03/26/2012

Sometimes the smart people can be the most naive when it comes to social media and social networks.

In the post I wrote on employee personal branding I offered the premise that an employee's digital personae will likely be affilated with their employee's brand during, as well as after, employment ends. Hold that thought please.

When I teach, especially social media workshops, I make every attempt to create what I call a "social media offline environment." As with social media online, although I have material to present, listening and sharing play important roles. Adults learn best from peer-to-peer interaction and people are generous to share their own lessons learned.

I want to pass along a story that a participant, a small business owner, shared of how she discovered one of her managment employees felt his job was boring and un-challenging. Let's call the business owner Ruth and the employee Bert.

To frame this, the guy was in his early thirties and not at the beginning of his career path. He had been using Facebook, Twitter and LInkedIn for personal and professional use for several years. One afternoon at work, he dropped a seemingly innocent remark on his Facebook wall (privacy setting set to allow friends only) that he was bored with his job and was looking for a new position.

You can easily connect the series of dots and dashes. A "friend" who wanted to be helpful to his friend's job search efforts, copied the update and sent it to someone who sent it to someone who sent it to the business owner.

As Ruth told our class, sometimes the best intentions of placing what you think is the right person in the right position just don't work. When she read Bert's post she had a lot of emotions. She was angry. She felt betrayed. She also was concerned about the perceptions people might have of the company, as well as, the job that she would sooner than later have to fill.

Her company was a small business where she tried to create a trusting environment. Evidently Bert didn't feel comfortable discussing his concerns with his manager or even with her. Ruth was at a cross road at how to handle the sitution. Was she not utilizing Bert's capabilities? Should she find another opportunity for him? Hop over to MSN On Main for some ideas on how to identify "diamond in the rough employees" that you may be overlooking.

As our in class discussion continued, it was became more obvious that the bigger issue for Ruth was the trust that she felt had been broken. In social media we talk a lot about building trust in the digital world. However, sometimes we forget that trusted relationships are continuously being played out in on-line public forums. We can impact people (and organizations) casually mentioned in a tweet, update or even a pin. Often these people don't belong to our merry band of of Follwers, Likes, Friends, Connects, Pinees, or well .. you get the idea.

In this situation we have three smart people who were naive about the impact of social media. Bert of course. Ruth who should have offered training and established guidelines to her staff. The third is Bert's friend who was only trying to help find a a pal a new job.

Lessons Learned: There are no gated communities on-line. Don't post what you don't want passed along. Employers it is critical to teach your employees good social media/networking etiquette and periodically remind them of your corporate guidelines.

02/17/2010

Out of work? Pink slipped? I've been there and done that. No matter the reason being for being down-sized or right-sized the results are the same .. it's a loss on so many levels. Especially in our economic times finding your next corporate home may not come quickly.

Finding a support system is not just helpful but can be critical to expanding your network and providing emotional support. Recently, my friend Linda asked if I would talk with the amazing women of C3G - an Atlanta suburb networking group - about using social media to support a job search.

I wanted to frame social media in a way that most women could relate to .. so Girlfriend, I built our conversation around .. shoes! Talking about social media should be fun .. don't you agree?

We spent some time discussing how social media tools can be used to create a digital bio that can represent you far better than a static paper resume. In the digital world there is a greater opportunity to leverage your special style that distinguishes you from others in the same field.

08/10/2009

Cultivating relationships has always played a critical role in business success. This post is dedicated to my dear friends and yours and perhaps you .. people who have unexpectedly found a pink slip instead of a pay check.

The first advice to folks on a job search seems to be to activate or reactive your network. Let's take what we've learned from social media marketing and make it work for a job search.

There are two aspects involved in creating a winning support
system:

1. meeting people who are willing to offer their help and
friendship

2. maintaining those associations.

As our lives grow more complex attending networking or professional organization events becomes a challenge to schedule. Even meeting colleagues across town for a coffee chat is often difficult. Then comes the time investment to nurture fledgling friendships.

As the world spins smaller what happens when your network extends not just to the next city or state but across an ocean? To put it simply, how do you meet people and then stay in touch?

The answers can be found in what might be perceived at first glance to be cold and impersonal … the World Wide Web. The Internet has morphed into an important catalyst for developing and sustaining digital relationships. Through social media tools such as blogs, social networking, online boards people are changing how they interact with each other.

Interestingly, women use social networks differently than men. A recent study by Rapleaf, a San Francisco consulting firm, indicates women appear to spend more time on social networks building and nurturing relationship while men spend their time acquiring relationships. According to Rapleaf the net result is the about the same number of people in both circles.

Developing digital relationships are not much different from the relationships you might make at a Chamber of Commerce event. At the core they are comprised of similar values: mutual need, support, trust and respect. Digital relationships hold a few extra benefits that may not be immediately obvious:

1. If you are shy meeting people at offline events the “fourth wall” of the Internet might make it easier for you to participate in conversations. People appreciate comments on their blogs, profile walls and Twitter @responses that add value. Your thoughts can be 140 characters a la Twitter, a few paragraphs on your own blog post or short video posted on your Facebook page and YouTube.

2. Dropping into a social network site like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook can be done at your convenience whether at 5a or 5p or midnight. You can engage at your computer or on your mobile phone extending the flexibility even further. You determine how long you stay - a few minutes or a few hours.

3. Similar to building your offline network, social media provides opportunities to “meet” friends of friends. A few ideas to help you jump start building your digital relationship network:

1. Explore the a few social networks. When you build your profile, to prevent spam consider using a different email address from your business or personal email. The following Big Three have become the core platforms for many business professionals.

LinkedIn’s focus is business networking making it an ideal first step into social media. I think of LinkedIn as your digital Rolodex combined with your online resume. Resource: from EZine Articles - How and Why to Network on LinkedIn.

Twitter allows only 140 characters per message or "tweet.” A Twitter strategy can be used not only to grow your professional network but to reinforce your position as a expert in your field. Resource from TwiTip - 8 Twittering Network Tips.

2.Don’t feel obligated to follow/friend everyone who knocks on your virtual door. Sometimes less is more. Take time to read profiles to help you determine who you want to be a part of your community.

3.Participate in discussions in the same way as you would in the offline world. Be yourself. Let your personality come through in your words, on videos or in a podcast interview.

4.Adding value to the conversation will reward you faster and better than a continuous stream of promotion about how great you are .. it's a two way conversation online and offline.

The results are you’ll develop a global network that you can tap into for resources, information, support, advice where you can control where and when you meet-up. Don’t be surprised if the connections you make turn into real friendships that lead to offline meetings! While digital networks are fast becoming a critical aspect of business relationships nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting over a cup of coffee or sharing a meal.

02/16/2007

Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to
Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be
sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.

A birthday toast
to my pal Bill Neal, the divo who taught me the virtures and vices of how to drink "southern!" Right in time for Bill's b'thday, Lewis Green posted Bill's story in the series To Those Who Serve.

Have some extra budget money to spend .. check out these coast-to-coast conferences about marketing and social media.

Event: Creating Great Customer Experiences with Lewis Green, L&G Business Solutions/BlogLewis Green will lead this discussion and focus on creating great
customer experiences, building customer loyalty and differentiating our
businesses by being known for our customer and client experiences.Date: March 23rd, 2007 - NoonPlace: Rebecca's Cafa, Burlington, MA

Event: Social Marketing University - Co-sponsored by Public Health Communication & Marketing Program, GWU School of Public Health and Health Services. Presented By Nedra Kline Weinreich, Weinreich Communications/Blog. Included for Social Marketing University attendees! - Next Generation Social Marketing Seminar. Learn about emerging marketing techniques. March 30, 2007, 8:30a - 12:00 p Dates: March 28-30, 2007Place: Cafritz Conference Center, The George Washington University Washington, DC

Event: BlogHer Business - "How to Succeed in a Social Media World"The conference is designed for businesses at all levels of social media integration and includes case studies, roundtable discussions, ask-the-experts micro-consulting sessions and break-out tracks. Divos are welcome!Bloggy Disclosure: Diva Marianne Richmond & I are Mc'ing something called The Lab on 3/28. On 3/30 I'm leading an unconference panel about Should You Blog?Dates: March 22 and 23, 2007Place: Hotel Affinia, 371 Seventh Avenue, New York, NYSpecial Discount: $100 off when you enter the code BHBAC-DSC on the registration page

Event: Healthcare Blogging Summit 2007 SpringSponsored by Trusted.MD and Transmarx Healthcare. Emphasis is on the practical lessons that that can be applied by healthcare professionals and organizations regarding social media.Bloggy Disclosure: I'll be leading a panel discussion Creating a Presence – Plan and Develop Your BlogStrategy and Tactics on Establishing Your Social Media PresenceDate: April 30, 2007Place: Venetian Hotel & Resort Las Vegas, NV

Happy Friday Divas. With the Moon in Aquarius today and the New Moon in Aquarius tomorrow it is an excellent time to gather your friends together and exchange ideas and news.

Mercury is now retrograde; time to reconnect with people from the past and catch up on all your paperwork (as in all those receipts needed for you upcoming taxes).

The Sun enters Pisces on Sunday bringing forth ideas and opportunities to help others. Keep your eyes and ears open for a cause that your company can sponsor or support; it will be a win-win all around. Tuesday is Mardi Gras, the Moon in Aries bodes for last minute plans. Wednesday Venus moves into Aries, sparks can fly with those close to you as procrastination and indecision will get on your nerves.

02/09/2007

Special Diva Welcome to the students from Alex Brown's University of Delaware's Information Technology Marketing class! This is the 3rd year that Prof Alex is teaching this innovative undergrad course that is required for marketing majors.

Students are required to maintain a blog, comment on classmates blogs and involve themselves in the world of social media. I'd suggest you drop in every now and again for some fresh ideas, interesting conversation and great resources that Alex posts.

I am thrilled to be part of this innovative program. I'll be moderating a panel discussion - Mapping Out Your Game Plan: The Nuts-and-Bolts of Getting Started. The panelists are some of the most talented in this space.

02/20/2006

Blogonomics Blog Cruise is scheduled to set sail on October 5th - 9th. This is one conference where procrastination is not a good thing. Early bird pricing ends March 15. No where else can you sip drinks poolside with cute umbrellas and live blog watching the ocean roll by.

Need to know about blogs sooner than later? New Communication Forum is next month. March 1-3 to be exact. Here's where you procrastinators luck out. New Comm is offering a Friend of the Speaker discount of $200. Discount code is NCFR200 with online registration. However, since the folks at New Comm value customer service, if you prefer to talk to a real person call: 650-331-0083. If you really, really want to attend let me know - I may be able to get one lucky person a special deal.

South By South West or known as SXSW is happening again in Austin. March 10-19th. This is a conference Texas Style ... big! SXSW brings all forms of media/communication together: music, films, interactive. You name .. it's there and of course blogs and bloggers. BlogHer is running a panel Blogging Naked At Work. To prepare for the discussion on a work blog/in a work setting, they're conducting a pulse survey of diva and divo bloggers about their attitudes towards mixing personal with professional blog posts. It's only a few minutes long ... would you help out? Please and thank you.

Sidebar: In full blog disclosure - I'm speaking at New Comm & Blogonomics Bog Cruise and altho I'm not going to be eating BBQ at SXSW, I am a BlogHer editor.

02/14/2006

In 2004, the divo of blogs, predicted 2006 would be the year business/marketing blogs became accepted as a mainstream strategy. One sign that Robert might be on target is college profs are not only using blogs for class communications, but are teaching students how to use blogs as...hold on to your boas divas, legit marketing tactics. Sidebar: If you've read Diva Marketing for long, you know that I believe blogs will be an important piece of a marketing strategy.

This is the 4th (I think..Alex correct me if I'm off) class that Prof Brown has conducted where blogs were the heart of the course. Heart is a good word for the way Alex structures his classes. He uses the blog to not only communicate about the class but to post assignments, resources and of course, student blogs. Students are required to read blogs in a news aggregator, build their own blog, and in true blog fashion, comment on classmates' blogs.Curious about the "required blog list?"

By the way, Info Tech Applications In Marketing has a pretty good resource link list. Need a refresher on the impact of internet technologies on marketing strategies? The class notes are alone are worth a visit.

Prof Dobscha's students are required to analyze marketing blog posts. Although a bit unnerving, I'm honored that Diva Marketing is among the blogs that the students chose to follow. Thanks Caitlin and KarinaKarina3!Other blogs include:

Their critiques offer an interesting, objective perspective. For the
most part, they're looking for bloggers to provide more details and
examples. Taking my cue from the students of Honors Seminar in Marketing, I'd like to know how and why they chose their blogs.

Let's toss the caps high and twirl a tassle or two to the profs who are teaching the next generation of marketers about consumer generated marketing.

11/05/2005

Recently it seems workshops are being cancelled for lack of money or lack of interest. Not so LexThink's BlawgThink. Last year's conference was so successful that Matt Homann is offering BlawkThink 2005 - November 11 and 12 in the Windy City. A smart conference developed for smart people who like to think way far out side the box! Wish I could be attend..perhaps next year.

08/20/2005

Nope, it's not a new SciFi creature from the deep. It's a Full-time Earthlink postion based in Atlanta. Seems like you'll get to do lots of cool stuff. They're looking for a Geek-type person who really understands and participates in the blogosphere.

Tell em you heard it from Diva Marketing and if you get the gig let me know!

Sidebar: Wonder how many other companies will add a blog master position type within the next few months. Is there any doubt that blogs are here to stay?